


Matadors

by F4nd0mG33k17



Series: Chicago Winters [2]
Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family Feels, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Multi, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 11:12:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18030638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/F4nd0mG33k17/pseuds/F4nd0mG33k17
Summary: Erin persuades Hank to visit Antonio's gym after discovering his involvement in funding the place and finally puts enough pieces together to realise her surrogate father has fallen for his detective.





	Matadors

**Author's Note:**

> Massive thanks to everyone for their kudos and comments on the first part of this series, I'm really glad someone found my writing enjoyable and made it more than an exercise in self indulgence! As promised, here is another snippet of the developing relationship between Hank and Antonio and there will be more to come if this one goes over as well as the first one :)
> 
> It's always bugged me that nothing ever really came of Hank helping Antonio fund the boxing gym and I'd been toying with the idea of a fic where Erin figures out Hank is head over heels for his detective and the two ideas just seemed to mesh together and then this happened. 
> 
> PS Comments and Kudos give me life <3 xoxo

Erin wakes to the smell of coffee brewing downstairs and is momentarily confused when she looks over to find that Jay is still fast asleep next to her. As she comes around a little more, she recognises the terrible colour scheme of her childhood bedroom and remembers that they had stayed at Hank’s last night. 

Justin, Olive, and Daniel had been in town and the unit had tied up their case in perfect time for Jay and Erin to join them and Hank for a family dinner. They had fussed over Daniel before his bedtime and then retired to the warmth and comfort of the sofas and an open fire. Not having had the opportunity to all be together for a while had meant they talked until a late hour and that, combined with the sharing of a generous amount of alcohol, had led to Hank suggesting they all just stay overnight.

Erin takes a few more minutes to truly wake up, considers with some incredulity the fact that Jay is curled up with her in her childhood bed, before throwing on a sweatshirt and heading for the coffee pot. She finds Olive and Hank playing with Daniel in the living room and then a bleary-eyed Justin hunched over a mug of coffee in the kitchen. She gets a grunt of acknowledgement as she pours herself a cup and tops up Justin’s, turns to find Hank in the doorway with a fond smile for the two of them. 

They’ve barely exchanged ‘good morning’s before Justin gains a fellow zombie in the form of Jay stumbling down the stairs and honing in on Erin’s coffee cup; she swats him away indignantly but can’t fight down a smile as he makes toward the pot on the side with an urgency at odds with his deep yawn and bed head. Once Jay’s first mug of coffee is finished, he pours another to nurse more slowly and acknowledges the others properly before turning to Erin and asking “Gym?”. She really wants to say no but a glance at the clock assures her they have plenty of time and the amount of food she ate last night forces her to say yes. 

Jay heads upstairs to change and Justin has dragged himself into the other room to play with Daniel, leaving her just with Hank. She’s been meaning to extend an invitation to him ever since Antonio let slip about his part in rescuing the place, something about the interaction flagging in her thoughts as important, and decides this morning is as good a time as any. “Hey, Hank” she calls out, making sure he’s listening before continuing, “Antonio may have said something about you being involved in funding Matadors? He was a little drunk so it’s not like he meant to spill, but I think you should come with us this morning and see what he’s done with the place.” She can see he’s about to turn her offer down, makes a last ditch attempt by adding “Besides, he’s been teaching me to box and I’d really love for you to see that I’ve improved since the last time you saw me try!” and knows he can tell what she’s talking about when he starts laughing. 

_When he had first taken her in all those years ago, Hank had still been involved in the Police league and had thought that the ring might give her a suitable outlet for some of her anger. She had been a little hesitant, hadn’t liked the woman he tried to get her to train with, and so Hank had tried to teach her himself. She’d hoped her lack of enthusiasm would put him off the idea, but he’d refused to give up and had goaded her into fighting back. She’d caught him off guard with her first real attempt to hit him and nearly broken his nose, after which she’d vowed never to step in the ring again even once enough time had passed for it to be a joke between the two of them._

__

__

_Antonio had said she should learn to box as soon as he’d established the gym, promised to teach her if she wanted him to. It had taken months of nagging before she’d cracked and told him why she wouldn’t spar with him but even then he wouldn’t let it go. Eventually he had needled her into working with pads and managed to build her confidence enough to actually get her in the ring with him. He’d been insufferable when she’d come to realise she’s pretty good at boxing and she would have stopped just to spite him if she hadn’t come to enjoy it so much. And if Hank can see her in the ring now, maybe he’ll finally stop teasing her about their mishap._

One look at her puppy dog eyes and he’s done for, heading resignedly for the stairs so he can get dressed and join her and Jay.

\---

Hank follows behind Erin’s car, not entirely sure where the gym is. He can tell Erin is a little confused by him contributing funds to the gym and then having so little to do with it that he hasn’t even visited, unaware that the only reason he’d helped out was because he wanted to make Antonio happy. Sometimes he thinks she knows how he feels about the young detective, is certain she’s going to call him out for it, but somehow she hasn’t quite put the pieces together yet. He parks his car and takes a moment to compose himself before getting out and letting her and Jay lead him inside, relatively certain that this will be the thing that clues her in to his feelings and praying to anyone that will listen that she is subtle about it once she figures it out.

The young detectives head purposefully toward the far side of the room while Hank hangs back, taking his time as he considers the place carefully. Its early enough that he expects it to be pretty deserted but there’s a decent number of people there already and he recalls Adam earnestly proclaiming the gym to be the best in the city. The space itself is larger than he had anticipated and Antonio has managed to bring in a good variety and amount of equipment without it losing that feeling, while also leaving some room open for floor work and what appears to be a guided class of some sort. The whole place is modern and decidedly masculine, clean lines with glass and stainless steel and a black and petrol blue colour scheme. Hank thinks it’s the perfect reflection of Antonio and feels a pleasant warmth at the thought of helping the younger man bring it into being. 

By the time he makes his way across the gym, Erin’s finishing wrapping her hands as Jay climbs up to join her in the ring; he can’t keep the smile off his face at the teasing barbs they’re tossing back and forth as they halfheartedly circle one another. He’s startled by Antonio’s amused drawl from behind him, having been completely unaware of the other’s presence before he calls out “Take your flirting elsewhere! Jay, get your ass out of my ring before your sloppy technique corrupts one of my star pupils”. Judging by the way Jay jumps out of his skin before slipping out of the ring sheepishly, Hank wasn’t the only one that hadn’t noticed the new company.

Erin watches as Jay heads toward some equipment in the far corner before turning back to Hank and Antonio. He can feel the weight of her gaze on them and thinks that this will be the moment she finally figures out his feelings but unable to stop it regardless. If he can’t help the way his eyes linger on Antonio at work then he doesn’t stand a chance here, not when Antonio’s climbing into the ring and bouncing on the balls of his feet as he ties off the wrapping on his hand, shirtless and flushed from whatever he had been doing before he headed their way. His shorts hang low on his angular hip bones and a line of sweat drags across washboard abs toward his waistband, more tanned skin on show than Hank has had the fortune to appreciate before. Add to that the unruly strands of raven hair falling into his dark eyes and the captivating lines of ink curling around defined muscles and Hank can barely breathe. Antonio’s grinning, light and carefree in a way that never ceases to impress given the darkness they come up against on a near daily basis, as he teases Erin about Jay being in the ring with her but the words are lost on him as he tries to kick his brain back into gear before he makes a fool of himself. 

He finally manages to return to a semi functional state by the time Antonio turns and directly addresses him for the first time, casual greeting marred by an undertone of uncertainty that Hank instantly dislikes. He cracks out a smile, hoping it hides how nervous Erin’s intense focus is making him as she looks between the two of them with an expression that suggests she’s right on the cusp of figuring him out. Wanting to talk before Erin can reach whatever conclusion she’s hurtling towards, he can’t help that the words falling from his mouth aren’t really what he had meant to start with. He winces internally at the accusation in his tone when he says “Erin said you confided in her about my help with funding the gym, wanted me to come and see what you’d done with the place,” and hastens to add “She also said you’re teaching her to box and I couldn’t miss the opportunity to witness that after the last time went a little south…” as lightheartedly as he can. He’s relieved when that gets a rueful smile from Antonio, even more so as he seems to be in the clear with Erin and her potential discovery when they both turn to find her embarrassed and spluttering at the reminder of the past incident. 

The meaningful glare Erin sends his way as Antonio turns his back is more than enough to quash his elation over getting away with his secret intact but she seems forgiving enough that Hank is relatively sure she won’t say anything in front of the man in question. He’ll take being cornered later with only minimal complaining if it means she doesn’t call him out in front of Antonio and decides to reign in any sarcastic quips about her boxing as a show of thanks. As it is, he needn’t have worried about her spilling his secret in retaliation for comments on her form because once they start sparring he can see how much she’s improved since their altercation all those years ago. Well, that and the fact that watching Antonio fight derails his thoughts all over again. 

He knew objectively that Antonio was good, has seen him in a fight plenty of times when they’re on duty and even boasted to others about how the other man could have easily gone pro, but watching it up close is something else entirely. It’s unsurprising to Hank that the ripple of muscle under tanned skin and ink as Antonio swings and blocks does a lot for his more primal thoughts, but the intense focus and controlled strategy of the way he fights hits him with a wave of lust that he hadn’t anticipated. 

He’s still trying to cool his thoughts down when Erin calls it quits, what little progress he’s made revoked when Antonio turns to him and calls out in a rough tone “Wanna go a couple rounds?”. Erin stamps down a laugh at his stunned expression and Antonio raises an eyebrow quizzically before elaborating a little uncertainly “Erin said you used to box?”. Hank barely manages to find his voice and reply “It’s been a while…”, uncomfortably aware that Erin is this close to busting him with the way she’s looking at him over Antonio’s shoulder. Hell, he’s close to giving himself away as he shifts and stuffs his hands into the pockets of his jeans that don’t do anything to hide how turned on he is from seeing Antonio fighting. That familiar small smile of Antonio’s tugs at his lips as he glances between Erin and Hank before he obviously decides to let it go and shrugs gently in place of a verbal response. He extends a wrapped fist for Erin to bump before he slips out of the ring, pressing in close enough to clap a hand on Hank’s shoulder as he heads toward wherever Jay disappeared to earlier. Hank’s eyes fall shut without his permission at the heat of Antonio so close to him, the rich scents of aftershave and deodorant still clinging to his skin even after his workout. 

He keeps his eyes closed longer than necessary, steeling himself for whatever Erin is about to throw his way. He cracks them open when he feels a presence at his side and is instantly wary of the devious expression she’s sporting. Erin’s hand closes firmly around his wrist, wraps scratchy against his skin as she drags him back into what he concludes must be Antonio’s office and locks the door. He can’t meet her eyes when she whirls on him but can tell from the shrill note in her voice that she’s been caught off guard even if she’s going to lord her discovery over him. 

He’s not proud of the way he flushes and stutters at her exclamation of “Well, I guess it’s pretty obvious now why you never took Olivia Benson up on that offer for drinks. How long you been head over heels for Antonio?”, can’t even formulate a response before she’s grinning like the Cheshire Cat and barrelling on with “I never got why you wanted him for the unit after he put you away, there was always something in the back of my mind that I could never put my finger on. Al totally knows, the bastard! He was so cryptic when I asked why you chased Antonio, I figured it was just Al being Al but he totally figured it out! He put you in CUFFS and you’re still totally hot for the guy. Oh god, don’t tell me that was part of it! I love Antonio and want him to be happy but you’re the only father I’ve ever had and I REALLY don’t need to think about THAT!”

He can’t help but laugh at Erin’s dramatic shudder and the red staining her cheeks as her rant gets away from her, firmly stamping down the part of his brain running wild at the memory of Antonio slapping cuffs on him and pressing him against a car as he attempts to bring them both back to a more serious discussion. He doesn’t mean to say as much as he does but he can’t stop the words pouring out when he starts after holding everything in so long. 

“Yes, I have feelings for Antonio. I know it’s not exactly logical, I hated him when he put me away, thought he was an arrogant little punk and I wanted nothing more than to kick his ass. But when I was in I realised that I was so angry because I was begrudgingly impressed, he was just this baby Vice detective and he took me down when I was at my worst. And then when I got out and I chased him down, to see if my respect was deserved I guess, I found this guy who would go to the ends of the earth for family - hell, Matt wasn’t even family at that point, just some guy that was important to his sister, and Antonio went to bat for him in a serious way. Once I saw that in him, I knew I needed him in the unit and I chased him. I honestly didn’t expect him to agree and if anything I think that was what sparked my respect into attraction but then it was just attraction. And then somehow he became a friend despite all our tangled up shit. I expected Al to beat me upside the head when I realised it was more than that for me, but he just acted like it was this inevitable thing and I guess maybe it was. Either way, I’m asking you to keep this between us. Please.” He’s not ashamed, couldn’t care less that Antonio is a guy and a subordinate and the person who put him in jail and the million other things that mean people would say he shouldn’t have fallen for him, but he needs to tell Antonio on his own terms if he has any chance of not ruining their friendship and the possibility of anything more. Erin agrees, begrudgingly, to keep quiet but Hank can tell she’s going to push the boundaries of any comment or innuendo she can without actually giving him away and that she’s not going to let him get away with hiding it much longer.

He’s saved from any further prodding when his phone rings, a new case demanding their attention. They slip out of the office and grab Jay and Antonio on the way out of the gym, Hank taking a final silent moment to admire Antonio’s damp torso before he drags a shirt over his head and they all make for the parking lot. He pointedly ignores the smug eyebrow Erin aims at him as he passes her and steels himself for that and more until he works up the nerve to finally do something about his feelings for Antonio.


End file.
